Throughout history, war has been part and parcel of life. From the Servile War in the BC era to modern engagements in different war theaters, the world has seen a change of conflict strategy and weaponry. War tacticians often like to classify insurgencies as being among the most difficult types of conflict to contain. This article looks at counter insurgency history, mostly from an American standpoint.
Insurgencies come in various types. Nowadays, the most practiced ones are guerilla conflict and terrorism. Most terror related wars are carried out in urban and semi urban settings. In comparison, guerilla warfare is often based in rural places and dense jungles. The key instigators of these kinds of conflicts are often not affiliated to governments. The term counterinsurgency is used to denote the act of responding to an insurgency with the aim of stopping it or controlling its effects.
Nowadays, such warfare is concentrated in Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia. The most dominant groups in these regions are ISIL, Al Qaeda, Al Shabaab and rebel movements that are intent on overthrowing governments. Not so long ago, the most dominant insurgent organization in Latin America was the FARC guerilla group. Thankfully, it signed a peace pact with the government of Colombia recently, bringing an age old conflict that had worn out the populace to an end.
Regardless of the locations where most insurgencies are based out of, the bottom line is that the US military has been active in countering most of them. A case in point is the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, which the US has been embroiled in for decades. Another example is the global war on terror.
Insurgency type conflict is not simply confined to the years that followed the new millennium. In the 1960s, America was involved in a bloody battle to eliminate communist fighters who were hell bent on toppling the capitalist Vietnamese regime. It is not generally known who won the Vietnam War, but many pundits have awarded the US a pyrrhic victory. During the same period, America was intent on toppling the regime of Fidel Castro in Cuba and funded a militia to fight the Cubans on its behalf.
The operation to do so, which is infamously known as the Bay of Pigs invasion, did not meet its objectives. Having gathered intelligence on the impending operation, the Cubans planned well to mount a strong defense. Pundits of military history like to refer to it as being among the worst foreign policy and military disasters in US history.
In general, there are three broad objectives of launching a counterinsurgency. These objectives are to achieve economic and political stability as well as security. In a sense, it is aimed at returning all the facets of life back to normal. During a period of conflict, the local economy is bound to suffer, political instability is certain and the safety of the civilian population is at risk.
Many publications on counterinsurgency have been made. Some authors postulate that provided there are genuine reasons for an insurgency, it is likely to succeed. The truthfulness of this can only be known with time.
Insurgencies come in various types. Nowadays, the most practiced ones are guerilla conflict and terrorism. Most terror related wars are carried out in urban and semi urban settings. In comparison, guerilla warfare is often based in rural places and dense jungles. The key instigators of these kinds of conflicts are often not affiliated to governments. The term counterinsurgency is used to denote the act of responding to an insurgency with the aim of stopping it or controlling its effects.
Nowadays, such warfare is concentrated in Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia. The most dominant groups in these regions are ISIL, Al Qaeda, Al Shabaab and rebel movements that are intent on overthrowing governments. Not so long ago, the most dominant insurgent organization in Latin America was the FARC guerilla group. Thankfully, it signed a peace pact with the government of Colombia recently, bringing an age old conflict that had worn out the populace to an end.
Regardless of the locations where most insurgencies are based out of, the bottom line is that the US military has been active in countering most of them. A case in point is the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, which the US has been embroiled in for decades. Another example is the global war on terror.
Insurgency type conflict is not simply confined to the years that followed the new millennium. In the 1960s, America was involved in a bloody battle to eliminate communist fighters who were hell bent on toppling the capitalist Vietnamese regime. It is not generally known who won the Vietnam War, but many pundits have awarded the US a pyrrhic victory. During the same period, America was intent on toppling the regime of Fidel Castro in Cuba and funded a militia to fight the Cubans on its behalf.
The operation to do so, which is infamously known as the Bay of Pigs invasion, did not meet its objectives. Having gathered intelligence on the impending operation, the Cubans planned well to mount a strong defense. Pundits of military history like to refer to it as being among the worst foreign policy and military disasters in US history.
In general, there are three broad objectives of launching a counterinsurgency. These objectives are to achieve economic and political stability as well as security. In a sense, it is aimed at returning all the facets of life back to normal. During a period of conflict, the local economy is bound to suffer, political instability is certain and the safety of the civilian population is at risk.
Many publications on counterinsurgency have been made. Some authors postulate that provided there are genuine reasons for an insurgency, it is likely to succeed. The truthfulness of this can only be known with time.
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